


You’re Worth More Than A Grade

by The_idea_master



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/F, Henry is in high school, JJ and Henry tease the mess that is Emily prentiss, Jemily - Freeform, emily comforts him, he’s dyslexic, its just cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:36:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29677821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_idea_master/pseuds/The_idea_master
Summary: After and argument with his father, Henry escapes to Emily’s apartment. There, he confesses something that he’s kept a secret for a long time.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 15
Kudos: 82





	You’re Worth More Than A Grade

Henry sat at the kitchen counter as his father inspected his report card. His stomach churned and his heart raced. By the way his father’s mouth pressed into a thin line, he knew it wasn’t good.  
“You’re failing English and History?” Will arched a brow, standing up straight and eyeing his son.  
“Yeah,” Henry muttered, glancing over at his mother who was sitting on the other counter top.   
“That’s not okay,” Will frowned. “You know if you’re struggling in a class to ask for help.”  
“I have!” Henry protested. “I go to tutoring during lunch. I do it every day.”  
“Then why are you failing two classes?”   
“I don’t know,” Henry lied, swallowing tightly. “I’m trying my best-“  
“Trying your best doesn’t give you Fs Henry,” Will interrupted. “Hell, even Ds aren’t that good.”   
“I’m trying Dad,” Henry promised again, “I really am.”   
“Look, maybe you are, but you have to try harder. Put in more time,” Will insisted. “If we need to we can pull you from club soccer-“  
“NO!” Henry protested, lunging forward and snatching away his report card so the two stupid letters were no longer sitting in front of his father. “You can’t do that.”   
“Yes I can,” Will glowered, “and it might be necessary.”   
“Will,” JJ warned, speaking up for the first time. “Don’t threaten him with that. He loves soccer. He has friends on the team.”  
“Then what do we do to make sure his focus is school?” He asked. “Fs and Ds don’t get you into a decent college. Cs barely do it.”  
“I can call Uncle Spence,” Henry stammered, “he’ll get me somewhere good! He promised.”  
“No!” Will snapped, “I’m not going to have my son leech off of someone else’s success. You will work hard to get where you need to. Your mother and I will support you, but the effort needs to be your own.”   
“Why do you care so much anyways?” Henry asked, his throat tight with emotion. “Isn’t it enough that I’m trying?”  
“Not if this is the result,” Will took the report card back and opened it so Henry could clearly see his grades. There were the two large Fs staring back at him. “You have to do better. Your mother and I need to talk about how to make that happen. We’ll let you know what our decision is.”   
— — —  
A knock sounded at the door, and Emily paused in her reading to answer it. What she didn’t expect was to find Henry standing there with a backpack slung about his shoulders.   
“Henry? What are you doing here? How did you get here?” She asked, stepping aside to let him into the apartment.   
“I rode my bike,” he shrugged, moving to set his backpack on the kitchen table.   
“Okay,” Emily shook her head, still confused. “Does your mom know you’re here?”  
“No,” Henry shook his head, seeming in phased by his own answer.   
“Does your dad?”  
“No.”  
“Henry,” Emily sighed, “we talked about this. You can’t just come over without telling one of them.”  
“I don’t care if they know I’m here or not. Let them worry,” He frowned, crossing his arms. Silence settled in the room, before Emily seemed to clue into what was going on.   
“What happened?”  
“My dad saw my report card and he’s upset,” Henry reluctantly began to explain.  
“Okay, how bad was it?” Emily asked.   
“Two Fs,” Henry admitted, his eyes studying Emily closely for her reaction.   
“Well, two Fs isn’t the best,” She smiled gently, “but it’s not the end of the world.”  
“Dad doesn’t think that way. He wants to take me out of soccer so I can try harder at school.” Henry explained, moving to sit on the couch. Emily took it as an invitation to join him.   
“Well, are you giving your best effort?” She asked.  
“Yes. I’m getting tutoring during lunch.”   
“Then that’s the best you can do and what happens, happens.”   
Henry studied her again, almost like he was trying to catch her in a lie but there wasn’t one. “So you’re not mad too?”  
“No,” Emily promised, shaking her head. “School is hard and people have different subjects they do better in than others. What subjects do you struggle in?”  
“English and History,” Henry replied, biting nervously at his nails.   
“That’s not good for you, you know.”   
“You do it,” Henry argued.   
“Fair point,” Emily laughed. “Okay, so what about those subjects is hard for you?”  
“There’s a lot of reading,” the young boy sighed, seeming to hate even discussing the subjects themselves.   
“Is it that you don’t want to read the books because they’re boring or you don’t understand them?” Emily asked. Her question seemed to strike something in Henry. He sat with a look of thought etched into his young features that made him look years older than a sophomore in high school.   
“This is going to sound dumb, and I promise I’m not crazy,” he looked expectantly at Emily to make sure she was listening, “but I just-I can’t read.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“The words move and jumble up. It gets so confusing I just stop. I can’t do it and my head hurts if I stare at a page too long,” Henry spoke fast, as if he were afraid to stop because he’d never confess again.   
“Henry,” Emily looked worriedly at the young boy, “how long had this been happening?”  
“As long as I can remember,” Henry shrugged, “it wasn’t too big of a deal in grade school. I could figure stuff out. And last year I just called Uncle Reid and he’d tell me everything I needed to know about a book. I never had to read it. But now, he’s back in school getting some other degree for fun so I don’t call him anymore because I don’t want to interrupt.”   
“First of all, that was very resourceful,” Emily took his hand in her own, “however, keeping something like that to yourself is painful. Does your mom even know?”  
“No,” Henry shook his head, his eyes welling with tears, “I don’t want her to be disappointed in me.”   
“Henry, she’d never be disappointed in you. She loves you more than anything,” Emily insisted, squeezing his hand lightly. “She’d want to help.”  
“I just...I thought it would go away. That maybe I could fix it somehow.”  
“Well, unfortunately, dyslexia isn’t something that just goes away,” Emily laughed lightly. “It can get better though. There’s ways to make it easier to read.”  
“Like what?” Henry asked.  
“Well, I’d have to study up on it but I had a dyslexic friend in gradeschool and she managed just fine without an Uncle Reid to help.” Emily teased, ruffling Henry’s hair. “Now, what I’m going to do is call your mom to at least tell her you’re here okay? She needs to know you’re safe.”  
“Alright,” Henry nodded.   
“In the mean time, find a snack to eat. I’m assuming you want to stay the night based on your bag?” Emily asked, getting up from the couch.   
“Yeah. If that’s okay with you.”  
“It’s fine with me,” Emily assured, fishing her phone out of her pocket.   
— — —  
Henry rummaged through the pantry until he found exactly what he was looking for: Cheetos. Smiling to himself, somewhat proudly for sniffing them out, he sat down at the table and munched happily away. But amidst his crunching he heard Emily talking in the phone.  
“Hey-yeah he’s with me. He’s okay I promise. Just eating a snack. He wants to stay the night, I think he just needs some space. Yeah, come over. There’s something we should talk about. Well, the three of us anyways, I don’t want to speak for Henry. Okay, love you. Bye.”   
“Is she coming over?” Henry asked, although he already knew the answer.   
“Yeah,” Emily replied, entering the small kitchen. “Somehow I knew you would find those.”   
“What?” Henry grinned from ear to ear.   
“You are impossibly like your mother,” Emily snorted, shaking her head. “Anyways, I think it’s a good idea to tell her about your troubles reading. She’ll understand more than your father. Then, she can explain it to him so he doesn’t chalk it up as another excuse for sub par performance.”   
“I hate the education system,” Henry muttered.   
“Now you sound like your Uncle Reid,” Emily laughed. “But trust me, it’s a bad system. Schools don’t know how to identify and help with neuro-divergent people. It’s a system created by and for neuro-typical people. But, I want you to know that to me-maybe not your dad-your self worth and value isn’t based on a grade.”  
“You mean that?” Henry asked, his eyes wide and vulnerable.  
“With all my heart. You’re smart and kind, Henry. You’ll be amazing someday no matter what,” Emily promised.  
“How can you be so sure?” He frowned.   
“I just know things.”   
“Henry?” A new voice called out.   
“Mom!” Henry stood up so fast he busted his knee on the table. That didn’t phase him as he ran around the corner to tackle his mother in a hug.   
“You got here fast,” Emily noted.   
“I may have been speeding,” JJ admitted, pressing a kiss to her son’s forehead before her expression became stern. “Don’t you ever run off like that again. Just tell me where you’re going okay? You had me worried. I thought-well, never mind. Just, don’t do that again okay? Please?”  
“I won’t,” Henry promised. And while he didn’t understand JJ’s fear, Emily did. She knew JJ feared finding another loved one dead, just like she had her sister, and the thought of it being Henry must have made her sick. “I’m sorry mama.”   
“I know,” JJ sighed, smoothing down her son’s hair. “Now what’s going on with you?”  
“That’s what I figured we should talk about,” Emily interrupted. “You can tell her if you want Henry, or I can. Whatever you decide.”   
“I’ll tell her,” Henry shifted nervously from foot to foot. “Mom, I think I have this thing that Emily called dyslexia.”  
“Oh,” JJ nodded, still surprised by the sudden confession. “What makes you say that?”   
Taking a deep breath, Henry repeated his conversation with Emily. JJ listened intently, and already Emily could tell she was thinking of all the possible ways she could better help her son.   
“So that’s why I’m having a hard time in school.”   
“Why didn’t you tell me?” JJ asked, her eyes sad.  
“I didn’t want you to be disappointed.” Henry’s voice trembled. “You always want me to be good at things and I-well, how am I supposed to be good at things if it’s my brain that’s messed up?”  
“Henry,” JJ laughed nervously, “baby, I would never be disappointed in you. Especially because of something like dyslexia. That’s not something you can control and it’s not your fault. Even if it weren’t because of something with your brain, and you were just having a hard time, I’d love you with all of my heart. You know that right?”  
“Yeah,” Henry nodded, hugging his mother once more. “It’s just...scary.”   
“I know.”   
“Is dad really going to make me quit soccer?”   
“No, I won’t let him.” JJ promised.   
“Me neither,” Emily assured, causing both blondes to laugh. “You think I’m joking but I’m not.”   
“Oh! Mom, can I stay the night here? Please? I just need some space from dad right now and besides, someone has to make sure she doesn’t explode the kitchen.” Henry looked pointedly at Emily.   
“Wow, okay,” Emily snorted.   
“What? I noticed the ingredients for pasta,” He shrugged, “besides, mom says you need supervision in the kitchen. Grandpa Rossi says so too.”   
“He’s making a cook book just for you,” JJ teased.   
“I let you both into my house and you attack me? This is slander!” Emily scoffed.   
“Also, mom, when did you get a key to Emily’s apartment?” Henry asked.   
“Good question,” JJ winced, looking expectantly at Emily for an explanation.  
“Is it for emergencies?” Henry asked.   
“Yep,” JJ nodded. “Anyways, you can stay the night but if you both make the house explode and I see it on the news I’ll ground you both.”  
“I’m older than you, you can’t do that,” Emily protested.   
“Yes I can.”  
“Calm down mom,” Henry snickered, “no one is going to get grounded. Pasta can’t be that hard right?”  
“I don’t know, ask Emily.”


End file.
